The present invention relates generally to a freely plastically flexible light-emitting strip structure, and more particularly to a hollow light guide strip body made of transparent material. The light guide strip body is formed with an axial internal chamber. A plastically flexible strip body is implanted in the internal chamber. Recessed/raised sections are formed on a wall of the internal chamber for changing light path.
A conventional lamp tube is made of a hard tubular body such as a glass tube. The tubular body is bent into a desired shape. An inert gas is filled in the tubular body. When electric current passes through the lamp tube, the inert gas will discharge to emit light. Recently, various light bulbs and LED lights have been developed. The light bulbs and LED lights are able to emit colorful light. The conventional lamp tube is relatively hard to manufacture so that the manufacturing cost is relatively high. Also, the conventional lamp tube has fixed pattern, which cannot be freely changed. Moreover, the conventional lamp tube is likely to break and damage due to infiltration of water (such as rainwater) or impact. Furthermore, one lamp tube can only emit single color of light at high power consumption. Also, the configuration and size of the light tube cannot be miniaturized and changed. When it is desired to present a different configuration, it is necessary to previously process and mold the lamp tube with a mold or use at least two lamp tubes in combination with a mount, which will affect the appearance as a whole. Therefore, it is quite inconvenient and expensive to use such lamp tube.
Recently, various light-emitting strips or light guide strips have been widely used in various fields to provide illumination or highlighting effect for some sites or articles. For example, the light-emitting strips or light guide strips are applicable to a transportation tool for providing warning effect, especially in a dim place. In general, such light-emitting strips or light guide strips are arranged on a mount to reflect light or flicker so as to provide warning effect for environmental cars and passengers. In some cases, the light-emitting strips or light guide strips are applied to a billboard, anti-collision device of a car, a wear, a safety helmet and a convenient transportation tool (such as a motorcycle or a bicycle). However, due to the high manufacturing cost and unchangeable pattern, the use of the light-emitting strips or light guide strips is still hard to popularize. As a result, low-cost light reflection sign or a low-brightness flickering device is still often applied to a transportation tool for providing warning effect. Such reflection sign or flickering device can only achieve limited warning effect, especially to those drivers driving cars at high speed. Also, it is rare for a passenger to wear a self-lighting safety device. Therefore, in an outdoor environment with insufficient illumination, the passenger is likely to be hit by a transportation tool.
Moreover, in daily life, it often takes place that a simple illuminator with variable configuration is needed for providing illumination or highlighting effect. However, currently, there is no such simple illuminator the configuration of which is freely changeable in accordance with the requirements of use sites.
Also, the conventional light-emitting strip or light guide strip body is made of soft transparent material and is not self-supportable. Therefore, a rigid support or mount is needed to lay the light-emitting strip or light guide strip body in a predetermined pattern. The additional support or mount leads to increment of manufacturing cost. Also, the support or mount will deteriorate the appearance and increase the volume and weight as a whole. Therefore, it will become inconvenient to carry the light-emitting strip or light guide strip body.
It is therefore tried by the applicant to provide a low-cost light-emitting strip structure, which is freely plastically flexible and self-patternable and is able to more apparently emit light.